


Tantamount Blessings

by BeyondStars



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Akayona Secret Santa, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 07:19:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13141761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeyondStars/pseuds/BeyondStars
Summary: Returning to his first proper home for a visit has Jae-ha somewhat anxious, but very quickly he is shown that he needn't have worried about a thing.





	Tantamount Blessings

The decision was made, much to Jae-ha’s internal delight, when the group were heading back over to the far West of the country; they would drop into Awa to pay a visit to Gigan and the pirates. It had been a little over six months since he’d traded Awa’s salty breeze for the hilly terrain of Kouka’s countryside, and Jae-ha wouldn’t lie – he hadn’t been expecting to be able to visit again quite so soon. Not that he was complaining, of course. He was really looking forward to going back, but he didn’t realise just _how_ excited he was – no matter how many times Yona and Kija asked - until the sea was finally visible off in the distance; the familiar glimmer of the sun hitting the water made his heart jump in his chest. As the group moved closer and closer to their destination, Jae-ha had been mentally rehearsing what he would say to everyone, particularly to the Captain. So much had happened since he’d left, which stories should he tell? Which ones should he leave out? What if-

“If Ryokuryuu furrows his brows any more, he may end up with one instead of two separate ones.” Jae-ha started more violently than he’d have liked and looked to his right, where Zeno was walking beside him. _How long has he been there?_

“Very funny, Zeno, but I can assure you I’d never let that happen. Monobrows are not beautiful.” Jae-ha laughed in an attempt to brush Zeno off, but Zeno continued to stare intently at his face. It was rather uncomfortable.

When Zeno spoke again, he kept his voice low to avoid attracting the attention of the others. “Ryokuryuu is nervous about seeing his first family again, yes?”

_Nervous_. Not a feeling that Jae-ha was plagued by very often anymore, but Zeno had hit the nail on the head; he was excited, yes, but the realisation that within _days_ he would be back in the place he had allowed himself to call home for thirteen years had made him somewhat jittery. So yes, he was nervous, and he also wasn’t sure how he felt about Zeno being able to figure that out. Meanwhile, Zeno had taken his silence as a confirmation, and he smiled warmly up at Jae-ha.

“Don’t worry, even Zeno still gets nervous sometimes! We’re all only human, after all. It’s totally normal! Would Ryokuryuu like to rehearse any introductions?”

“Erm, I’m alright, but thanks for the offer.” Zeno nodded and bounded on ahead, falling into step beside Shin-ah and asking him something that Jae-ha couldn’t make out. Jae-ha sighed. _Only human, indeed,_ he thought. Gigan and the crew had been the first to make him _feel_ like a human, and not the monster he had been brought up to believe he was. For that he would always be grateful.

 

Two days later, they finally arrived at the town entrance. Glancing around, it didn’t look like much had changed, but once they found their way onto one of Awa’s busier streets the town’s transformation became apparent; the atmosphere was no longer tense or fearful, and instead was cheerful and carefree as the laughs and conversations of the inhabitants hummed on either side of them. The people themselves had bounce to their steps, their eyes no longer dull or their lips turned upwards in false smiles. Yoon commented on how lively everyone was compared to when they were last there, and everyone agreed. Jae-ha couldn’t help but smirk. This was all he had wanted and more for Awa, and he couldn’t be happier with the result. He had almost forgotten about his initial nerves, when after stepping out from a side street onto the portside some familiar voices drifted down the stone path towards them.

“Careful with that, Maya! If you drop it the old man will go crazy, and I’m not losing some of my pay because you’re being clumsy!” Ryou was standing at the bottom of a cart, arms outstretched to catch the barrel that Maya had accidentally half thrown out of it. Rowen was beside Maya, his expression vexed as he watched the two younger men bicker.

“I am being careful! It was just heavier than it looked.”

“Stop arguing you two, or we’re going to leave you here to do it yourself. We could be doing more productive things than listening to this.” Yuri and two other girls were standing with Ryou, looking as fed up as Rowen did.

“Then maybe we could lend a hand?”

At the sound of a different voice, the six looked around to see the group approaching, Yona and a few others waving as they walked. They broke out in smiles instantly, abandoning their work to run to their friends. Yuri grabbed Yona’s hands in her own, excitedly jabbering about how glad she was to see them all again while the other two girls greeted the boys with equal enthusiasm. Nothing compared, however, to the noise created when the ex-pirates spotted Jae-ha near the back of the group.

“You came back! I can’t believe you actually came back! I mean I knew you _would_ come back, but not so soon!” Maya had attached himself to Jae-ha’s right arm while Ryou grabbed his left, and Rowen hugged him from the front. All three were crying.

Jae-ha laughed softly, trying to loosen their iron grip on him somewhat. “Yeah, I’m back. Sorry for the wait.” In response came a combined wail from all three men as they clung to him even more tightly. Hak was smirking as he watched Jae-ha try to move with the extra weight, and turned away when he motioned for help. _Some friend he is,_ Jae-ha thought.

In the middle of the commotion, Yona turned to Yuri. “Where’s Captain Gigan? Is she close by?”

Yuri smirked and placed a hand on her hip. “Where d’ya think she is? We’ll take you to her right now.” She called for the boys to let go of Jae-ha – they did, reluctantly - and led the way to where everything had begun all those months ago; the secret cove at the very edge of the town. As they made their way down the path towards the ship, which looked as sleek and formidable as they remembered it being, Yoon asked why Gigan was still on the ship and not living in town. Rowen laughed at the question.

“Knowing the Captain, she probably appreciates the peace and quiet this place offers!” Jae-ha knew he was right.

They had only set foot on the deck of the ship for a few moments before more excited shouting was heard; Tatsu and Toku were just coming down the stairs from the upper deck, and once again Jae-ha was trapped in bone crushing hugs from two more teary men.

Wiping his eyes, Toku looked around at them all, beaming. “Man, I can’t believe you’re all here! This has gotta be the best day of my life.” Tatsu nodded beside him, now also smiling. Yuri clapped her hands together.

“Well, since we’re all together again, I think a party is in order. You guys up for it?”

“You know it,” Hak replied, grinning. Zeno cheered beside him while Shin-ah nodded furiously.

The air was alive with animated chatter about collecting booze and organising food for the evening, any fatigue from travelling quickly forgotten. Jae-ha laughed to himself as he watched his companions, old and new. _They really haven’t changed. Why was I so uneasy about this?_ Looking up towards the upper deck – whether it was out of habit or instinct, he couldn’t tell – he saw a figure he knew all too well leaning over the railing above, observing the scene before her. Breathing out a puff of smoke into the evening air, Captain Gigan lowered her gaze from the horizon to meet his own, a smirk tugging at her lips that he couldn’t help but replicate.

“Took ya long enough, brat.”

 

  
**********

 

The party was held on the deck of the ship, and it was so lively anyone would have sworn the whole of Awa had been invited and not just a select few. Yuri had gathered as many of the girls as she could, and along with Yona and Zeno they danced first to Jae-ha’s flute, then later to the stamping of the pirates’ feet. A few other girls had decided to see if Kija’s alcohol tolerance had improved from the last party, and were amused to find that it hadn’t at all. Yoon was in charge of snacks, cooking more food than they really needed while simultaneously turning down even more marriage proposals, and Hak and Shin-ah scoffed a good amount before anyone else got near it. It had been a few hours, and Jae-ha was surprisingly only slightly drunk, when he noticed that a certain someone had disappeared from the festivities. Subtly lifting one of the few bottles of sake that were still full and two cups, he slipped through the doors to the inside of the ship and made his way to the Captain’s quarters.

“Retiring already? It’s only getting started out there, you know.” Leaning round the doorframe, he found her perched in her chair by the great wooden table she had had for as long as Jae-ha had known her. Pipe resting on the edge of a bowl she used to catch any ashes, she sat with her eyes closed, one leg folded over the other.

“Oh? Then why’d you come down here?”

“To see you of course, Captain.”

“Tsk.”

Jae-ha chuckled, seating himself opposite her and placing the bottle and cups between them. He used the time that her eyes were closed to observe her; she didn’t look any different physically from what he could see, except that her hair had grown a few inches. It suited her well. He let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. Gigan opened her eyes at the sound, her gaze as sharp as ever. Jae-ha nodded at the sake bottle on the table, raising an eyebrow at her in question.

“Go on, then.”

Happily, he poured out two cups, sliding one across the table carefully to Gigan. The lanterns on the wall caused shadows to dance on the wooden panels of the ship, twisting themselves into all sorts of shapes. It looked like they were moving to the sounds from the party above them. The pair were quiet for a while, Gigan sipping her drink while Jae-ha stared down at his own, but the silence wasn’t an awkward one. Eventually, Jae-ha let out a short laugh. “How funny. I've been making mental notes of all things I was going to tell you about when I saw you again, and now that I'm here I have no idea where to start. It’s a little infuriating, actually."

"Must be some list for _you_ to have bother finding the right words." Gigan’s words contained her usual blunt form of teasing, and for some reason it actually made him feel slightly better.

“That’s certainly one way to put it.”

There was another short gap in the conversation while they both sipped their drinks, then Gigan picked it up again with a question. “Where'd you find the scruffy blond kid? He wasn't here before.” She gestured back through the door in the direction of the noise. There was clapping coming from upstairs now.

"Zeno? Not long after we left, actually. He appeared from the forest covered in dirt when he smelt our dinner."

"Sounds like you when you were younger."

Jae-ha scrunched up his nose slightly. "I didn't wander in the forest, Captain."

"Nah, but you did like climbing the rocks near here. Always filthy when ya came back, though. I've still no idea how you managed it." Gigan finished her cup with one great swig and set it down on the table again, sliding it back over to Jae-ha. Smiling sweetly, he refilled her cup and returned it before topping up his own.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” At this Gigan rolled her eyes, and Jae-ha felt his smile widen to a grin.

"Yona's grown a bit. Definitely hardier than she was when she left here, less like a startled bird." Jae-ha nodded.

"She's tougher, for sure. She's come a long way, I don't think I'd recognise the girl who came all that way to find me anymore. They're almost like two different people." He could feel Gigan observing him and his face flushed, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the alcohol or something else. Staring at the table, he sighed, “My silly relatives, however, can be a handful sometimes, but honestly... I don't think I can imagine being away from them at this point." All initial hesitation now gone, he propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand, running his finger over a rough section of wood as he continued, “As for Hak and Yoon, the latter is probably the only reason we're still alive after everything, and the former's fists don't hurt any less than the first time they connected with my jaw."

"I bet you still kinda like it, too."

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I hated it."

“Typical.”

Looking up, Jae-ha saw that Gigan was smiling as she watched a new smoke cloud from her pipe hang in the air, and he smirked to himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d so freely spoken his mind about his companions (the alcohol probably helped), and he wondered if the last time had in fact been when he was here. Then again, he'd never have been able to lie to the Captain; she could always see right through him. He continued to tell Gigan about the group’s various escapades over the last few months until the sake was gone, and the lanterns emitted only the faint glow of the remaining ashes. After a final shared laugh, Gigan went quiet as she listened to their surroundings.

“Your friends have gotten awful quiet. Should probably go check on them.”

Rising from their seats – not on the steadiest of feet, in Jae-ha’s case – they made their way up to the deck. Swinging open the door, the pair were met with a cool night breeze and an interesting scene; pretty much everyone was asleep, curled up in groups in various spots around the ship. Everyone except Hak and Yoon, who were quietly weaving between sleeping forms and removing empty bottles from hands.

Gigan snorted. “Didn’t even make it ‘til dawn, they’re outta practice.” Jae-ha chuckled beside her, taking in the scene before him in his slightly hazy state.

'Lucky' didn't even come close to how he'd describe himself at that moment in time.


End file.
